Friday 10 February 2012

Friday Feast - Roasted Lamb Shanks

This recipe is one of the photos I lost the other week and haven't managed to recover - and I don't do roasted lamb shanks as a matter of course sadly :( My photo had roasted veggies and even some Yorkshire Puddings on but these look exactly the same as mine did and they were absolutely scrummy!

The recipe serves 6 people, I cut the lamb down to two shanks for the two of us but found that I still needed almost a full bottle of red wine for the marinade (ha, not even a sherry glass full left for the cook so I just threw it all in the pot in disgust) and I kept the rest of the ingredients at the quantity for 6 shanks. The marinade is an overnight thing so you have to plan ahead for these. But, they are totally gorgeous and worth the forward planning- trust your Auntie Di's word for it. I bought the lamb shanks in Sainsburys at their fresh meat counter - a decent butcher should be able to oblige but they're as rare as hen's teeth around here sadly :( Even our local Farm Shops seem to have gone all pre-packed and sort of clinical.

Roasted Lamb Shanks

6 lamb shanks, trimmed 
1 carrot, peeled, cut in half
1 onion, peeled, cut in half
a few whole peppercorns
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled, crushed lightly
bunch fresh thyme
small bunch fresh rosemary
750ml/1¼ pints red wine
6-10 tbsp redcurrant jelly, to taste

Place the shanks in a casserole pot and add the carrot, onion, peppercorns, garlic and herbs.

Pour over enough wine to cover the meat of the shanks - about a whole bottle - then set the casserole aside to cool. Chill in the fridge overnight. (This helps to tenderise the meat.)

The next day, preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 3. Place the casserole, covered with a lid, into the oven and cook for 2-2½ hours, or until the meat is tender. Slightly uncover the pot for the last hour so that the liquid will start to reduce. If the simmering becomes too lively during cooking, reduce the temperature slightly.

Remove the casserole from the oven. Remove the shanks from the cooking liquid and place in a roasting dish. Spoon over a couple of ladles of the cooking liquid to keep the shanks moist. Reserve the remaining cooking liquid. Roast the shanks in the oven for 45-60 minutes, or until the meat is falling off the bone.

Remove the vegetables from the cooking liquid with a slotted spoon or strain the liquid through a sieve.

Heat the cooking liquid until boiling, then boil until the volume has reduced by half. Stir in the redcurrant jelly until melted.

Serve the lamb shanks with mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables and the gravy.
Or be like us and make it like a 'proper roast' :)
Not a last minute dish to prepare - you have to chuck the lamb shanks and marinade into a pot the night before (difficult?) and it just cooks over a long time when in the oven - the smell is fabulous too :)

Enjoy!

Di
x

9 comments:

  1. Now thats certainly a yummy recipe for cold days like today Di. I can smell it from here :-)
    Hugs,
    A x

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  2. Di, this recipe sound so delish. thanks for sharing.
    irene
    xxxx

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  3. Sounds pretty straightforward, and totally delicious.

    xxx

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  4. Hello Di, this looks tasty. I'm not all that keen on lamb ... it's the smell of it roasting that doesn't do it for me ... but the DH loves it so this will be a good one for him to have a bash at, although he may blanch at using the whole bottle of wine ... he enjoys the chef's prerogative of a glass or two too much to willingly give it up even with the promise of succulent lamb for dinner :) Elizabeth x

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  5. Im having cold meat and salad, how sad is that

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  6. Are you 'there yet' Moira? Di xx

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  7. Love lamb this sound right up my street. This seems to be like what we call up here 'Lamb Henry'. No idea where the Henry comes in though.

    Kath x

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  8. Sounds and looks delicious Di, lamb one of my favourite meats:) Sandra H

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  9. That recipe sounds delicious, di. we are lucky enough to have a good local butcher, but we do have to go about five miles. He is brilliant and almost knows the names of all the beasts he sells. Thank you for coming along to visit. I have cleaned the nose print off the screen, but I probably left one on your screen looking at the casserole. See you on Sunday in the playground. xx Maggie #89

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